IT WAS while walking down Rusden Street that schoolboy Firas Ilyas finally felt safe.
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The Ezidi refugee, now aged 17, could no longer hear the sounds of gunshots and cries of starving children.
Firas and his family had fled their home in northern Iraq after it was razed by ISIS in 2014. They only had time to grab backpacks, food and water before fleeing to the mountains.
"We stayed in the mountains for nine days," Firas said.
"Some days were very hard ... lots of children were crying for food ... lots of them died.
"Sometimes the parents would leave their children and run up into the high cliffs and jump off.
"They did this because they would rather die than be caught by ISIS. I didn't see anyone jump, but I could hear the ladies screaming when it happened."
This is an extract from a memoir Firas wrote shortly after arriving in Armidale in 2019, aged just 13.
Between their home being destroyed and arriving in Australia, Firas and his family had spent five years ricocheting between refugee camps in Syria and Kurdistan.
Now in Year 11 at The Armidale School (TAS), Firas is looking for a publisher for his manuscript.
"I want people to know what happened to my people and to write down our experiences so they are never forgotten," Firas said.
Firas and his family are part of the 650 Ezidi refugees who now call Armidale home, having fled the Islamic State genocide in northern Iraq.
The city opened its doors to the refugees in 2018, having heard of the 2014 massacre of Ezidis in the Sinjar region in northern Iraq.
Contributing to the community
Since then, the Ezidis have opened shops, started businesses, raised families and contributed much to Armidale.
Firas' autobiography, Through Firas' Eyes ... the Refugee Kid is a powerful read of a boy's attempt to understand the atrocities that robbed him of his childhood.
A family friend who is a teacher at Minnimbah School is helping edit the manuscript and now Firas would like it published.
The memoir begins with Firas' memories of his home in Solak in northern Iraq. His parents, Faris and Sary Gharbi, grew radishes, celery, pomegranates and olives on their farm.
After helping his mother and grandmother milk the sheep and goats, Firas Firas was given $1 to buy a snack. He used to like playing marbles and cards with his friends outside.
"We also played with slingshots and my favourite thing was getting ice cream," Firas wrote.
An abrupt end
But his idyllic childhood came to an abrupt end in 2014 when Firas was aged just 7 and ISIS demolished their mud-brick home.
Firas and his family initially settled in Camp Nagroz, in Syria, where they were reunited with his Ezidi relatives.
"Syria was good, there were people making food which they shared with lots of us," Firas wrote.
"They gave us blankets, a tent and other things. For sleeping, we had a shared blanket and mattress."
But conditions became dangerous and after two months, the family fled in their car to a camp in Kurdistan.
"I remember driving passed a big theme park and seeing an amazing Ferris wheel ... I thought it was so cool," Firas wrote.
The family stayed in two camps in Kurdistan before returning to their home in Shingal, hearing the town was safe.
"But there were bombs still going off in town and some of our neighbours were killed by one.
"It was quite scary in houses around us because they were all smashed down."
Firas would find time to play his favourite sport, soccer, making goal posts from huge rocks, or water bottles.
Refugee status
It was against this background the family decided to apply for refugee status. They applied through the United Nations and waited three years for their applications to be processed.
"One day the UN people called us and said, 'You only have 15 days and you need to say goodbye, you are going to Australia'."
For Firas, "this was my happiest day", but his parents found it hard, "because they would be leaving everybody behind".
After leaving Shingal they flew into Sydney and on April 9, arrived in Armidale.
"Some people came to get us in a bus ... and they took us to our first house in Rusden Street.
"I made a new friend called Callum ... and I played soccer and frisbee with him and had fun."
When Firas first arrived in Armidale, he spoke just five words of English.
His first impression was of a green city, with "lots of trees and a big soccer field, which I loved".
Firas is on a scholarship at TAS. His aim is for a career in soccer and a degree in digital marketing.
But his main priority is finding a publisher for his manuscript. Firas would also like to play professional soccer for Australia or Iraq.
"Thank you to all the people who have helped me write this book and get me where I am today," Firas said.
And in 10 years' time, "If I make some money, I will build some schools and stuff in Iraq ... and when my kids grow up, I will train them to be what they want to be and what they want to do".
